Chapter 199: Ruler of the Ocean

The research team returned to the scientific vessel aboard the submersible.

“Sixth Sister, how was the diving suit I gave you? Pretty amazing, right?” Lin Chen hurried up to Ji Shuiyao the moment he saw her appear on deck, grinning with anticipation.

Ji Shuiyao barely spared him a glance. “It felt the same as my regular suit. Nothing special.”

With that, she turned and walked off to handle her work, leaving Lin Chen frozen in place, utterly baffled. How could that be?

【Ding! Host successfully swapped out Lin Chen’s Super Diving Suit, causing his attempt to impress the female lead Ji Shuiyao to fail. You’ve gained 800 Villain Points. Lin Chen’s Protagonist Halo -40, Host’s Villain Halo +40!】

On the deck, standing quietly among the other exploration personnel, Wang Haoran received the system notification and chuckled inwardly.

Ji Shuiyao stepped up and addressed the assembled team. “Let’s report the results of our exploration.”

“A Zone is secure.”

“B Zone is clear.”

“C Zone confirmed safe.”

One report after another came in, each one more encouraging than the last. Ji Shuiyao’s usually stern face softened with a rare smile. If the zones were safe, they could begin biological specimen collection as soon as tomorrow.

During her dive, she had observed several marine organisms that didn’t match any currently documented species. If they could retrieve those specimens and analyze them, the academic breakthroughs would be massive.

But just as her heart surged with excitement, a discordant voice interrupted.

“P Zone, dangerous,” Wang Haoran reported calmly.

Her expression tightened. “Explain.”

“There’s a shark patrolling the area.”

Ji Shuiyao visibly relaxed. Sharks followed certain behavioral patterns, and if they weren’t hungry, they typically didn’t attack. Even if they did, the team had high-grade tranquilizer rifles—more than enough to deter them.

“What’s a shark got to do with anything? We’ve been diving for over eight years and run into dozens. We’ve even caught a few. Look at him getting scared over nothing,” one of the divers mocked.

The others joined in, laughing boisterously.

Wang Haoran smiled coldly. “Have any of you seen a shark that’s twenty meters long?”

The laughter stopped. Silence fell like a sheet of cold seawater.

Ji Shuiyao frowned. “The largest whale shark ever recorded doesn’t exceed thirteen meters. Are you sure about what you saw?”

“I’m not a marine biologist. I can’t tell you the species. But I can tell you for sure—what I saw was over twenty meters long,” Wang Haoran said evenly. “My recommendation is to pick a different location for specimen collection.”

Ji Shuiyao hesitated. This zone was the safest they’d found in a sea filled with hidden whirlpools and jagged reefs. Finding a new one would cost days, maybe weeks. But if what he said was true…

“Visibility wasn’t great. You probably misjudged what you saw,” someone offered.

“Exactly. There aren’t any known shark species that size.”

“Well, except the Megalodon…”

“Come on, that thing’s been extinct for millions of years.”

The murmurs swirled across the deck like ocean spray.

“We stick to the original plan,” Ji Shuiyao decided after a moment’s deliberation.

She was decisive by nature. Wang Haoran wasn’t a trained diver, let alone a marine specialist. A size estimate mistake was entirely plausible.

And besides, if that shark really was over twenty meters, it could only be a Megalodon. But those had died out long ago.

“Alright, show’s over—time to eat,” someone said, and the crew dispersed with laughs and chatter trailing behind them.

The next day.

The submersible descended once again. This time, the full sampling team followed, fully equipped with gear and protective suits. Altogether, thirty-five people were involved.

Ji Shuiyao decided to split everyone into pairs, each assigned to one of the seventeen previously explored zones for biological collection.

During the group assignment—

“Miss Ji, pair me with you,” Wang Haoran offered with a smile.

“I need someone trained to work alongside me. Not someone who’ll slow me down,” she replied without hesitation.

Shrugging, Wang Haoran chuckled. “Then good luck out there, Miss Ji.”

Once the teams were finalized, collection operations began. Because of the odd number of participants, one group had three members—and Ji Shuiyao was in that group.

She ensured they were equipped with the vessel’s best weaponry, and then they headed straight for P Zone—the area where the shark had been sighted.

But when they arrived, the waters were strangely calm. Not even a large fish was in sight.

“Told you that guy was just trying to scare us.”

“Yeah, probably didn’t want to do any real work, so he cooked up a story.”

“Good thing Vice Director Ji didn’t fall for it.”

“Vice Director Ji’s too smart to be tricked.”

“We should definitely give that kid a piece of our mind when we’re back on the ship.”

“Hell yeah. He needs a good beating.”

The chatter from her two team members was incessant, but Ji Shuiyao said nothing. Her brows furrowed as she swept the area with her searchlights.

Her instincts told her something wasn’t right.

She’d studied the fish density in the other regions yesterday. Based on the broader ecology of the surrounding waters, the near-total absence of marine life here was… unnatural.

Could it be—

“Get out. Now.” Her voice sliced through the water like a signal flare.

Both divers froze as she barked into the underwater communicator. “Everyone, stop collection. Return to the submersible immediately!”

The command left the others stunned.

“Vice Director Ji, what’s going on?”

“The fish population here is too low. It’s possible they were—” Ji Shuiyao began, but her words trailed off. Her eyes locked onto something massive, and for a long second, she could only stare.

Then she pointed sharply behind her teammates. “Look. Behind you.”

They turned—and went deathly still.

“Is that… a Megalodon?!”